north embarcadeo visionary plan

we went to the north embarcadero visionary plan public workshop tonight near seaport village. this is the overhaul of the entire embarcadero area, or san diego's porch on the bay, which is currently dominated by a wide, pedestrian-unfriendly road, and tons of parking right on the bay. the current focus of the project is phase one, which will involve making over the broadway/harbor drive area along the waterfront. it's a 20 million dollar phase in a 200+ million dollar project.

it was good to see that the project architects and a relatively small turnout of the public were both devoted to making this a successful project. we missed the beginning (note to ccdc/port authority - it's tough to make a 5:30 meeting downtown unless you work there), but caught the end of the proposed landscaping presentation. landscaping at the site will be represented by large palms lining both sides of harbor dr., and potentially a median strip of palms. architecture-wise, plans for a round public information/tickets building on the waterfront seem to have been dumped for more flexible, airy architecture that could be moved as needed. i think any architecture should be as unobtrusive as possible, since the harbor is the real focus here, and there are plenty of other opportunities to create defining architecture nearby. the architects are very conscious of not blocking sight lines. also interesting was the talk on lighting, and the designer is very aware of potential maintenance and light pollution issues. i'd like to see some lighting that complements the blue LED's to be installed under the coronado bridge. finally, the briefly-mentioned (during my time there) arts walk, one block north of broadway, sounds very interesting.

more meetings are scheduled (if you can get up for a 9 am saturday meeting) and its critical that the public provide its input. potential issues with several of the project's plans that i hadn't even considered were raised by the thoughtful residents there.

it will be fun to see this area change in the next several years, considering how high profile (and neglected) it is now. after all, it's one of the first things many tourists see after landing at lindbergh, or disembarking from their cruise ship.